Method and system for synthesizing virtual high dose or high kV computed tomography images from low dose or low kV computed tomography images

Abstract

A method and apparatus for medical image synthesis is disclosed, which synthesizes a target medical image based on a source medical image. The method can be used for synthesizing a high dose computed tomography (CT) image or a high kV CT image from a low dose CT image or a low kV image. A plurality of image patches are extracted from a source medical image. A synthesized target medical image is generated from the source medical image by calculating voxel values in the synthesized target medical image based on the image patches extracted from the source medical image using a machine learning based probabilistic model.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to synthesize medical image data, and more particularly, to synthesizing virtual high dose or high kV computed tomography images from low dose or low kV computed tomography images.[0002]Computed tomography (CT) combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles and uses computer processing to create cross-sectional images, or slices, of bones, blood vessels and soft tissues inside the body. The cross-sectional images, or slices, can be combined to reconstruct 3D CT volumes. CT scans can be used to visualize nearly all parts of the body and are used to diagnose disease or injury as well as to plan medical, surgical or radiation treatment. For example, CT scans can be used to diagnose muscle and bone disorders such as bone tumors and fractures, to determine the location of tumors, infections, or blood clots in a patient's body, to guide procedures such as surgery, biopsy, and radiation therapy, to detect and mon...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

Enables the creation of high quality CT images with reduced radiation exposure or noise, effectively addressing the tradeoff between image quality and radiation dose, and can be applied to various imaging modalities.

Problems solved by technology

However, high dose CT scans typically produce high quality CT images, and there is a tradeoff between the reducing the radiation dose level of a CT scan and the image quality of the CT images resulting from the scan.

Low kV CT scans are typically preferred because lower kV values can result in higher attenuation values and image contrast and can also result in a decrease in radiation dose.

However, low kV CT scans result in an increase in image noise as compared to high kV CT scans.

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